The pezhetairoi (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: , singular: ''pezhetairos)'' were the backbone of the Macedonian army and

Diadochi The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterran ...

kingdoms. They were literally "foot companions" (in Greek, ''pezos'' means "pedestrian" and ''hetairos'' means "companion" or "friend"). The

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx () was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6-metre pike. It was famously commanded by Philip's son Alexander the Grea ...

es were made up almost entirely of pezhetairoi. Pezhetairoi were very effective against both enemy cavalry and infantry, as their long pikes could be used to impale enemies charging on horseback or to keep enemy infantry with shorter weapons at bay.

Description

The pezhetairoi were the battalions of the

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ian

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

. They first came to prominence during the reign of Philip II, particularly when they played important role in Philip's subjugation of Greece at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Philip created this unit by lengthening the spear to the point of becoming a true pike, removing the heavy armor, and replacing the large shield with a smaller alternative. They were armed with the sarissa, a long spear with a shaft made from flexible cornel wood, which had a much longer reach than the traditional hoplite spear. Because of its length, the phalanx could present the spearpoints of around five files of men; which made the phalanx almost impenetrable, and fearsome to oppose. The name "foot companions" was coined by Alexander III during the reign of his father Philip II as a recruiting method. By labeling his infantry as his personal "companions" and "friends," Philip was able to engage a wider manpower base for his subsequent military campaigns, as positions in his personal infantry would denote pride and honor. Tactically, the pezhetairoi were best used as a strong defensive line, rather than as shock troops. The length of the sarissa, while making them terrifying for an enemy to oppose, severely limited their maneuverability; and if they were taken in flank or rear they had little chance of responding. This was particularly clear at the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela ( ; ), also called the Battle of Arbela (), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Ancient Macedonian army, Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Army, Persian Army under Darius III, ...

in 331 BC, when the rapid advance of the right wing caused a breach to open between two of the battalions of pezhetairoi—a force of enemy cavalry broke through and, had it not been for a lack of discipline in their own command, under

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; ; 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief military lieutenant and Alexander's ...

, and for Alexander's placing of a second line of traditional

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

s in reserve, the phalanx might have been destroyed from the rear. Apart from in pitched battles, the pezhetairoi and their sarissas were not very practical; it is supposed that they were re-armed, and their tactics adapted, to suit the guerrilla warfare that was prevalent, and necessary, in

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...

and

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...

Asthetairoi

There is a separate group of Pezhetairoi called ''Asthetairoi'' (singular ''Asthetairos''). There is a debate as it is not fully clear what the prefix (

: -) is referring to. Some claim it comes from ''asty'' (= city) or (= townsmen), which would mean the ''Asthetairoi'' were recruited from cities. But the units referred to as ''Asthetairoi'' were recruited in northern Macedonia, where there are just a few cities. Another suggestion is that comes from ''aristoi'' (= the best) and thus implying they were some kind of elite. This would correspond to the fact that they were placed on the right side next to the

hypaspists A hypaspist ( "shield bearer" or "shield covered") is a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "" () or under cover of his shield. By the time of Herodotus (426 BC), the word had come to mean a high status sol ...

. The common conception is that ''Asthetairoi'' means 'closest companion' in terms of kinship and designated units from Upper Macedonia. Another explanation is that 'close' is referring to their position in battle, as they were the closest to the king. For fighting near the Hypaspists it is possible that they were better trained and equipped than normal Pezhetairoi.

Battalions

The battalions of pezhetairoi appear to have been organised on a regional basis, at least to begin with. We know of battalions named for the regions of Orestis/Lyncestis (two battalions probably combining men from both regions), Elimaea and Tymphaea—if all pezhetairoi were from Upper Macedonia then we would expect the other battalions to have represented Eordaea and Pelagonia. In 334 BC

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

took six battalions of pezhetairoi with him to

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. By the time the army moved into

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 327 BC, a seventh battalion had been added. * At the

Battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydos (Hellespont ...

the battalions were those of (from right to left):

Perdiccas Perdiccas (, ''Perdikkas''; 355BC – 320BC) was a Macedonian general, successor of Alexander the Great, and the regent of Alexander's empire after his death. When Alexander was dying, he entrusted his signet ring to Perdiccas. Initially ...

, Coenus, Amyntas, Philip,

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, ) was a hero venerated in his '' temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer. Meleager is also mentioned as o ...

, and Craterus. * At the

Battle of Issus The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC between the League of Corinth, Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III of Persia, Darius III. It was the second g ...

the battalions were those of (from right to left): Coenus, Perdiccas, Craterus, Meleager,

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

(replacing Philip), Amyntas. * At the

the battalions were those of (from right to left): Coenus, Perdiccas, Meleager,

Polyperchon Polyperchon (sometimes written Polysperchon; ; b. between 390–380 BC – d. after 304 BC,Heckel, W., 'The Marshals of Alexander's Empire' (1992), p. 204 possibly into 3rd century BC),Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hel ...

(replacing Ptolemy), Simmias (deputising for Amyntas, who was recruiting in Macedonia), Craterus. * At the Battle of the Hydaspes River only five battalions took part, and were those of (from right to left): Antigenes, Clitus the White, Meleager,

Attalus Attalus or Attalos may refer to: People *Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon **Attalus I, ruled 241 BC–197 BC **Attalus II Philadelphus, ruled 160 BC–138 BC **Attalus III, ruled 138 BC–133 BC *Attalus, father of Ph ...

, Gorgias. The other battalions (those of Polyperchon and Alcetas) remained on the western bank of the Hydaspes, under the command of Craterus, and crossed only when Alexander was victorious, in order to continue with the pursuit of the fleeing Indians. However, there is much supposition and guesswork regarding this battle.Fuller, pp. 180–199.

Notes

References

* F.E. Adcock. ''The Greek and Macedonian Art of War''. California: 1957. * J.F.C. Fuller. ''The Generalship of Alexander the Great''. New Jersey: 1960. * D. Lonsdale. ''Alexander, Killer of Men. Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Art of War''. London: 2004. * Waldemar Heckel, Ryan Jones, Christa Hook. ''Macedonian Warrior: Alexander's Elite Infantryman''. Oxford: 2006. {{Ancient Greece topics Ancient Greek infantry types Infantry units and formations of Macedon Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world Pikes (weapon)

Description

Asthetairoi

Battalions

See also

Notes

References